US probes effort to impersonate White House Chief of Staff, WSJ reports
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White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles had told associates that some of her cellphone contacts had been hacked.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WASHINGTON - The US federal authorities are investigating an effort to impersonate White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, the Wall Street Journal reported on May 29, citing people familiar with the matter.
The report said Ms Wiles had told associates that some of her cellphone contacts had been hacked, allowing the impersonator to access private phone numbers.
The incident affected her personal phone, not her government phone, the report said.
The Journal reported that in recent weeks, senators, governors, top US business executives and other figures received messages and calls from a person who claimed to be Ms Wiles, citing the people familiar with the messages.
The White House and Federal Bureau of Investigation did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The White House has struggled with information security. A hacker who breached the communications service used by former Trump national security adviser Mike Waltz earlier in May intercepted messages from a broad swathe of American officials, Reuters reported recently.
Towards the end of 2024, a White House official said the US believed that an alleged sweeping Chinese cyber espionage campaign known as Salt Typhoon targeted and recorded telephone calls of “very senior” American political figures.
As Ms Wiles is a key Trump lieutenant and a lynchpin of the White House’s operation, the content of her personal phone would be of extraordinary interest to a range of foreign intelligence agencies and other hostile actors.
Ms Wiles has reportedly been targeted by hackers at least once before, in the final months of US President Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign.
At the time, hackers alleged by the US authorities to be acting on behalf of Iran approached journalists and a political operative with a variety of messages sent to and from Ms Wiles, some of which were eventually published. REUTERS
